I’ve been having a lot of conversations with business owners recently who are exploring the idea of using Pinterest for business. They want to know, “Is it really worth it??”

And my answer is yes, YES, YES!

Pinterest is a search engine filled with people who are already looking for the answers to questions/needs that your business can solve. All you have to do is provide what those customers are already searching for! I use Pinterest for my lifestyle blog, Living the Sweet Wife, which primarily focuses on marriage and mom life. Without even trying to directly sell anything on my website, I am able to consistently generate over 100,000 monthly pageviews, 85% of which come from Pinterest!

Here are a few other reasons why Pinterest can- and should- be used as part of your marketing strategy:

1 | Pinterest is THE platform for content marketing

If you’re planning on using content creation as part of your marketing strategy, you’ve probably heard that content marketing is one of the best ways to build trust and a relationship with ideal customers. Consumers these days are tired of ads, spam, direct mail, telemarketing and the like. In fact, according to Business Insider, “Ad blocker [software] usage surged 30% in 2016” and is likely to increase in North America and Europe in the coming years.

That being the case, consumers are more than ever wanting to purchase from companies they trust and have a relationship with. According to KeyDifference Media, 78% of consumers believe that companies who produce helpful content are interested in building good relationships.

Pinterest is the platform for helpful content. If you want to get your content out there, try your best to answer the questions your target market is asking

2 | Pinterest = Inbound Marketing

Inbound marketing is all about attracting people to your website and to your products. How do you do that? By being helpful, solving problems, answering questions, entertaining, etc. Inbound marketing is all about being relevant. You’re giving your ideal audience what they need and want. Which is exactly what good content marketing is all about! Pinterest is a search engine. Therefore, if you use it to give your audience what they're searching for (which requires a little investigation and strategy on your part), they’ll come to you! Once you get them on your website and provide them with something useful, educational, or entertaining, the potential of them buying from you increases significantly. According to this article, those who utilize content marketing see conversion rates that are SIX TIMES higher than those who don’t!

3 | Pinterest helps to establish your website as a resource

Pinterest users scroll through their feed in order to find things that are useful, inspirational, and helpful. If you provide a user with one or two pieces of useful information, they will begin to see you as a resource which has the potential to increase referrals, backlinks, social sharing, and sales! Establishing yourself as a resource will not only help to build trust and credibility among your audience, it will increase that chances of someone purchasing from you. “If their free stuff is great, how much better will their paid stuff be?!”

4 | You can get your content in front of a lot people, even without a large following

One of the things I’ve loved about Pinterest from the start is the fact that, if you work for it, you can get your content in front of a really large audience, even without a large following!!

I recently did my signature Pinterest Setup for a company that saw the value in using Pinterest, but didn’t really know how or where to get started. When I began working with them, they had 5 followers (I think I was one of them). A week later, when I was finished with the setup, they had 15 followers (whoop whoop... but hey, that’s a 300% increase!) BUT their average daily impressions (meaning the number of people who see your pins) increased by almost 19,000% in just a few days! No, that’s not a typo. See for yourself:

So, obviously this company’s following was nothing significant; but, by doing this little magic trick called joining group boards and pinning regularly (something I talk about a lot more in this post), they were able to get their own content in front of a lot of people on a daily basis! Don’t be afraid of starting an entirely new social platform (search engine, really) from scratch because the potential for growth and traffic increase is huge!

5 | Pinterest users are looking to buy

93% of Pinners have used Pinterest to plan for or make purchases and 52% have seen something on Pinterest and made a purchase online. So while Pinterest is a place where people go to get inspired by many types of ideas, they also end up getting inspired to shop.

— Pinterest for Business

Pinterest users are on the platform ready and willing to buy. Whether they’re looking for inspiration for popular products and trends or to buy directly from a Pinterest pin (one of Pinterest’s newer features), it’s an important place to be if building brand awareness is important to you!

So, what’s it gonna take to convince you to get on there?! Worried that Pinning content regularly will take up too much time? I got a solution for that, too. It’s my little friend called Viraltag (<- affiliate link, TIA for the support). Really though, if you’re looking to increase traffic and relationships with consumers through content marketing, your business needs to be on Pinterest.

Not sure how to get started? You know that Signature Pinterest Setup I mentioned earlier?Click the button below to schedule a call with me to talk about jump starting that Pinterest strategy of yours. Talk soon!